Would a video referee have made a difference in Adelaide?

Yesterday’s frantic finale at Coopers Stadium was one the craziest finishes in A-League history, and it’s likely to have repercussions far beyond the destination of the three points.

Did Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Michael Theo strike Adelaide United defender Dylan McGowan with an elbow in injury time during the Roar’s controversial 2-1 defeat?

Watching in real time, it looked like McGowan wrapped his arm around Theo and in trying to shake off the defender, Theo subsequently struck him with an elbow to the face.

But if you watch the replay, Theo’s first instinct is to look instantly to his right – or in other words, behind him on his goal side – as though he has no idea where McGowan is standing.

And that would make sense given that it was McGowan who initiated the contact, having charged up to Theo from behind and grabbed the goalkeeper with his left arm.

If anything, the foul should have gone the other way, and had referee Stephen Lucas blown his whistle immediately for obstruction – a rule that is essentially no longer enforced – the visitors could have taken their free-kick and flown home from Adelaide with a valuable point.

Instead, the Roar are left to rue a costly defeat, and there could be some major headaches to contend with given the serious allegations made against assistant coach Ross Aloisi following an incident in the tunnel at the end of the game.

It’s hard to escape the feeling that none of this would have happened if the A-League already made use of video assistant referees, which are now only a matter of weeks away from being introduced.

Say what you will about the increasing encroachment of technology, but had the VAR system been in use, it surely would have highlighted the fact that it was McGowan who committed the first foul against Theo.

As it stands, the penalty awarded against the Roar was as cruel as it gets – not least because they had already made all three substitutions.

So it was that midfielder Thomas Kristensen stood up to Sergio Cirio from eleven metres, and it was the Spaniard who prevailed with a coolly taken penalty.

While the defeat is unlikely to cost the Roar a spot in the finals, the fallout from the spiteful encounter will no doubt rumble on for some time yet, and it will be interesting to see what punishment Theo ultimately receives.

Meanwhile, Western Sydney Wanderers had no such trouble in dispatching Wellington Phoenix 3-1 in Sunday night’s other fixture, with the Phoenix effectively kissing their top six aspirations goodbye with barely a whimper.

In a season in which the Phoenix should have been expected to prove their worth to the A-League, the Kiwi outfit have been a major disappointment.

Mind you, it was Western Sydney’s first win at Spotless Stadium this season, and that poor form was invariably reflected in the stands, with only a small crowd in attendance.

Wanderers fans will no doubt point to the relatively late Sunday evening kick-off as the reason for the low turn-out, however that’s the price A-League clubs simply have to pay if Football Federation Australia is to allow clubs playing in the AFC Champions League additional time to recover.

The Wanderers have at least rediscovered their scoring touch, on a weekend in which rivals Melbourne City underlined their pedigree by hammering a lacklustre Newcastle Jets 4-0.

City were as impressive as the Novocastrians were poor, and one of the major disappointments from a grinding regular season campaign has been the inability of the bottom four to apply sustained pressure to the top six.

But the major talking point from the second week of the split round was undoubtedly the stoppage-time drama in Adelaide.

The Reds may still prop up the standings, but they’ve just delivered the Roar’s late-season hopes a hammer blow.

Mike Tuckerman

Mike Tuckerman is a Sydney-born journalist and lifelong football fan. After lengthy stints watching the beautiful game in Germany and Japan, he settled in Brisbane, and has been a leading Roar football columnist from December 2008.

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The Crowd Says (154)

I’d like to know what the referees opinion is on this. Was he looking and thought McGowans attempted Rugby tackle was fair play (McGowan last night tweeted his explanation saying “I was trying to foul the goalkeeper to prevent a quick counter attack”) or was he looking elsewhere and didn’t see the initial incident but saw the subsequent contact? The VR would help in the second incident but presumably not the first?

Let me ask a different question. The ref handed out 6 yellow cards and 2 reds. Was it really that kind of game or are some of our refs over officiating? The Theo incident was just hustle and bustle yet the ref was sucked into a poor game changing decision. Our refs are too card happy. Look at the EPL and you’ll find they hand out fewer cards on average compared to the HAL but you can’t say the EPL is not a robust league.

Stevo, I don’t watch a lot of EPL but enough to agree with you. The game is played at a much faster pace and the referees seem to let a lot more physical aspects go unpunished without even awarding a foul and yes, yellow cards seem to be awarded less easily.

We’re also tolerating simulation a lot more, McGowan goes down like a sniper has hit him – the contact with Theo didn’t warrant it but he did it to influence the referees decision. And of course he will argue that every other team does it as well so it was just their turn to benefit. So what do we do?

But there can be no discussion on improving refereeing standards for next season because our administrators are focussed on other things sadly.

Fadida, I was going to make the same point about refereeing mistakes/controversies so agree with you. But that wasn’t the point stevo was making, and I do think refs give too many fouls and yellow cards too early, that’s something they could improve for next year

The point still remains, the EPL is no rougher than the HAL and if anything is played at a quicker pace but we hand out cards quicker. Why? And then the ref has no where to go later in the game when it gets tenser. Of course there will always be controversy no matter the league but that’s not my point.

There was no dive in the Jets/Roar game and just because you can write it down and say it doesn’t make it true. The Jets player put his arm out (which is a foul) to stop the Roar player getting past. Whether there should have been two yellow cards or not goes to Stevo’s point above which is a far more sensible discussion.

Theo got what he deserved, he should have known better and is a sign frustration is breaking through with this squad of players – but why the referee didn’t punish the attempted rugby tackle on Theo though is just bizarre and can we assume this is now acceptable behaviour to prevent a quick counter attack in future?

“Just because u write something down doesn’t make it fact unless u r a bully”

What?

You are on a rampage about Brisbane lately with a selective memory.

Ease up. The ref stuffed up yesterday big time and should have awarded Brisbane a penalty and instead gave Adelaide a spot kick and red carded our keeper. Also Kristensen is missing next week because of blatant simulation by a Reds player. These are facts.

U missed the bit where I wrote earlier that I can understand Brisbane frustration yesterday .
The Adelaide player deserved to be shoved away . Unfortunately in football cheating and diving is consistently rewarded by referees . I can’t stand this aspect of the game . I would give anyone who overacts any Foul s few weeks suspension . Let’s get rid of the cheats

It was a disgusting decision among many this season but when the A league only wants to employ 2 full-time professional referees for a supposedly professional league what else can they possibly expect? The game loses out on a lot of refereeing talent because younger refs don’t see refereeing at the top level as a viable future

Have to admit that I’m still yet to here a convincing argument as to why a professional ref produced better results than the current format. If it can be “proven” then they should all be full time given you’d only need a pool of 7 or 8 with a few other part timers. Yes I know the ffa’s finances are stretched but increasing the number of f/t refs would not be a major hold in the budget. Anyway, as I said I’m still not convinced on the merits.

In general what review of the match do the referees do? Do they sit down with a recording and analyse their decisions, or does a third party do this?

What’s the performance rating in-house like? Or do you just get your badge, get payed, and turn up?

Notwithstanding the usual amount of blame, there does seem to be an opaque system in place that leaves us wondering what improvement mechanisms are there during the season that may help reduce the number of contentious issues per game (now that is a stat I’d like to see compared to other leagues around the world).

A video referee or video replay cannot do a thing if the referee is bad.

It is like a bad driver cannot save time if he crashes his car often. It is like a lazy man who throws away or stops his alarm clock.

By rule, Theo’s elbow in the box when the match in play (not stopped because of off-line, goal kick or offside) is a kind of infringement needing to be punished by red card.

However, Dylan McGowan makes the infringement first. So, he should be given a yellow card too. By rule, nowadays rules in soccer, once the goalkeeper has the ball, player cannot intervene.

Is the referee bad. Indeed, very bad.

Apart from not giving a yellow card to Dylan McGowan for holding Theo to stop him from initiating a quick counterattack, he made a slow reaction. This referee should blow the whistle when Dylan McGowan held Theo. Should the whistle had gone earlier, Theo need not struggled to set himself free.

This incidence makes a bad example to other matches in the future. With this example, other players will hold the goalkeeper to delay the play.

“Should the whistle had gone earlier, Theo need not struggled to set himself free”

So it’s the referee’s fault that Theo couldnt resist swinging an elbow with the intent of hurting an opposition player. I’m sure Theo couldve ‘set himself free’ without throwing an elbow. And i’m sure if Theo didnt throw the elbow, he would have won the foul. It was obvious the referee was trying to see if Theo would have been able to set himself free LEGALLY to launch a counter attack as there was virtually no time left.

Spot on kaks. However having not achieved the release the ref should have blown up for a foul against Theo and booked Mcgowan. Not having done that however the ref was correct in sending off Theo. He should have also booked Mcgowan for simulation.

The TV coverage clearly shows the ref eye-balling McGowan fouling Theo and doing nothing UNTIL he sees Theo’s elbow come into contact with McGowan’s face (although it is not clear whether he was actually hit or not). There is a case to suggest McGowan should join a theatre group in Adelaide because he’d get a starring role in something. The question we have to ask now: Is it OK for players to monster a goalkeeper from behind when he is about to clear the ball in his area? Because that’s what happened here. Isd this a precedent? or a tragic cock-up by a ref who had just about lost control of the game in the 2nd half.

Was there a mark on the poor lad’s face? Blood? I haven’t seen any ‘shocking’ pics and the TV aqngle didn’t really show actual contact – only McGowan’s award-winning dive to the turf. So LOL all you like – but this was a stitch-up all right – by McGowan and the hapless ref.

They legitimately aired a front on angle before the penalty was taken which clearly showed Theo’s elbow make contact with McGowans face. Even the side on angle they aired initially shows contact being made while Theo was looking over his shoulder to see where McGowan was before he swung his elbow. Whether McGowan went down too easily is another debate, however trying to debate whether contact was made or not is laughable.

I’ve looked at it a few times, he may have touched his face but only just. It was not a clear lash out with his elbow as you are portraying. It was more an attempt by Theo to shake himself free of a player wrapped around him. Of curse his elbow movement was a natural part of that, and a red card became a possibility. But equally, McGowan totally overplayed the touch and had already committed a foul anyway.

I think Kossie on Shootout got it right.
As Kaks says ref playing advantage, when no advantage after elbow, should have been free kick to Brisbane & then a sent off for Theo for the elbow, there was clear intent there.

Punter – As this debate Is headed up about video assisted refereeing I feel the tone of the debate has “wandered” somewhat.
The answer to the question in the headline would surely have seen Mc Gowan booked for a foul against the goalkeeper, not only did he contact the keeper but he did it from behind which in many eyes would further increase the punishment ,it deserved,at least a yellow card.
This fiasco, and the discussion about issuing cards, got me to thinking about the most efficient referee I have ever come across in my time in the game.This lad made it his business to ask if he could visit the dressing room just before a game, and, when allowed ,he spelled out how he was going to referee the game ,leaving the players in no doubt as to what to expect.
During the game he would allow the game to flow but used to make it his business to get up behind the player and whisper to him “I seen that and cut it out or else”. This ref.knew every player by their first name and it was amazing how players got to respect his methods, re-acting accordingly. He very seldom had to produce a card of any colour.
Getting back to the complaints about the projected “hold-ups” that would result in TV analysis,would it be any worse than what is experienced at the moment every time a set piece/corner kick is taken??, when the referee has to sort out a host pf players all committing “fouls” that should be punishable by awarding penalty kicks. Can this “pain in the a,.e” behaviour be stopped,? sure it can. ,The referee should start to award penalty kicks,the problem would soon disappear after six or seven penalties were awarded.
If the players didn’t learn from their folly,the coaches would soon teach them. Cheers jb

In this blog, the conclusion is that the referee is wrong in awarding a penalty. As such, a VAR can have a chance to correct the main referee. However, we wonder there are many good referees in A-league.

However, VAR should go ahead. We cannot stop going with technology because of the lack of good referees. The referees and VAR can evolve in time to do better.

I remember a precedent. This is a similar foul relating to Theo and an opponent who embraced Theo to delay counterattack. This incidence happened earlier in this season, despite not remembering which match.

In that match, Theo was given a yellow card, not the offender. And Theo point to his head to gesture the referee having problem. I remember this well.

Maybe, because that we wrote quite a lot on this incident months ago, the referees targeted Theo. That is why the referee yesterday wait Theo to foul. This assumption is supported by the fact that Dylan McGowan did not receive a yellow card. The referee had bias.

In conclusion, there are two precedents now to let players to interfere A-league’s goalkeepers.

I’ve been sympathetic and supportive of the Phoenix for a long time but I am beginning to genuinely question their value to our comp. the quality and value that they have delivered to the a-league over last few years in particular has been minimal. We are constantly crying out for more opportunities for young Australian players yet their is one club which is filled mainly with kiwis and imports. I don’t feel any sense of rivalry when we play the Phoenix whereas if you transferred the Phoenix team to Wollongong or Canberra you would get more of a rivalry feel from a Sydney FC or wsw supporters perspective (or Geelong if you are a victory/city fan). If there was a poll of a-league fans tomorrow I think you would find that most fans wouldn’t care if they dropped out tomorrow and were replaced by another Aussie team. Yes I know it’s not easy to pull up a brew team from scratch but it can be done.

Happy to hear arguments to the contrary but please don’t bring up Rv rights as my understanding is NZ rights are fairly minimal.

An interesting stat from this weekend was the average crowd for this season fell below the full season average (excluding finals) of the same fixtures two years ago. Football attendances are in decline – how’s a Video Ref going to help that?

Paul – If you are attempting to do a believable analysis on crowd figures why do you keep going back 2 years,is it because it suits your argument?. Last year at the completion of game 115 the aggregate number of fans who had attended games was standing at 1,433,156.
This season to date that figure is 1,446,109,an increase of just under 1%.
If we do go back a further year the figure for 115 games was 1,487,966 which calculates an increase of 3,5 % over this year. As you can see the percentage variable is minimal and immediately calls for further investigation if one wants to arrive at a creditable “trend”.
Suggest you investigate further before trying to “sell” a “fact”. Cheers jb.
eg , The move to a temporary new stadium has seen one of football’s best supported clubs,WSW, experience a drop in average attendances.On Sunday they played Wellington in front of 7,828.
Last year ,examining the same game in Sydney, they drew 12,589.
The year you cite, 2 years ago, the same fixture drew 12,633.
It is obvious from these figures that the move to a new ground has caused a drop in the club’s attendances.
The same club ,WSW drew 61,880 to their first game of this season,a derby against Sydney FC
Care to explain ???. Cheers jb

Why go back two years? I would have thought that was obvious – the fixtures repeat every two years. This year Wanderers played ESFC at home twice, last season only once, two seasons ago twice. Apples for apples.

So a like-for-like fixture comparison occurs only every two years so as I wrote attendances are down. It’s time football fans woke up to this BS.

Paul – did you consider that this supposed anomaly you mention also occurs elsewhere Sydney FC ,Melbourne Victory,Melbourne City and of course as you say WSW ,all are affected by this supposed imbalance in attendances, so what is that supposed to prove or disprove?.
Come on Paul ,surely you can do better than that, you weren’t attempting to compare ” like” matches you were analysing total aggregate attendances.
Let me give you some more info you’d maybe like to analyse.
Champion club from last year, Adelaide, have had an abysmal season their average gate for the season so far falling from last year’s 11,300 to this years 9,900 while Perth have risen from 8,258 to 10,580. Brisbane Roar have gone from 12,850 to 14,680. Newcastle Jets have gone from last year’s 9,500 to this year’s 8,860.
Get my point? it takes more than a wild “stab in the dark” to come up with accurate “trend”results. Cheers jb.